A group of firms led by PwC will conduct a “full-scale due diligence” on KPRL and its findings will be released before January, said John Ngumi, chairman of the state-owned pipeline company.

“We want to have a holistic view of the refinery company,” Ngumi said by phone from the capital, Nairobi. “We can then decide what do with KPRL, if it’s going to be bought by KPC or a synergy between the two companies.”

Kenya is preparing to start producing at least 2,000 barrels of oil a day in mid-2017 from fields in the northern Turkana region that are being developed by Tullow Oil Plc. President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government plans to haul the crude by road and rail and may process it at the refinery, which is situated at the Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa.

The refinery has been mothballed since 2013. Full ownership of the facility reverted to the government in April when the Treasury paid Mumbai, India-based Essar Oil Ltd. about 500 million shillings ($4.9 million) for its 50 percent stake.

Kenya, which has estimated reserves of 750 million barrels, plans to start construction of a 865-kilometer (538-mile) pipeline linking its oil fields to a port being built at Lamu, near the border with Somalia, by 2021.